by Sir John Hawkins

John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.

But judges for the annual BETT awards, which recognise excellence in educational technology, claimed they had “concerns about the Asian community” and insisted “the use of pigs raises cultural issues”.

As a result, they “could not recommend this product to the Muslim community”.

Anne Curtis, of Newcastle-based Shoo Fly, said the idea that including pigs in a story could be interpreted as racism was a “slap in the face” and described the criticism as “inflammatory”.

To be honest with you, I seriously doubt that Britain is teeming with Muslims who get horrifically offended by seeing a cartoon pig. That’s not to say that there aren’t Muslims who feel that way, but my guess is that they represent a small percentage of Muslims in that country — which brings up an important point.

In the West, which has a tradition of free speech, people have to deal, often on a daily basis, with things that offend them. That includes conservatives, liberals, gays, straights, blacks, whites, Hispanics, Christians, atheists, and yes, that applies to Muslims, too.

So with that in mind, if you are a Muslim who is so horrifically offended by seeing a cartoon pig that you can’t make it through a digital book, then maybe the West just isn’t for you and perhaps you should consider moving somewhere like Sudan or Saudi Arabia, where you’ll be more comfortable with the local culture.